A (Very) Food-a-licious Blog

When in Maryland….

There is something about this particular state that makes you feel like you’re living in a little town. Maryland is special, not just because of its abundant watershed, beautiful western mountains, or high quantity of both the crabs you can eat and all the venereal diseases that Baltimore can offer (we were top in gonorrhea about 10 yrs prior!), but also because like living here is like setting up a cot in a themed restaurant that never goes to bed. Whatever it is that you love food-wise, us crazy Marylanders will always cover it with our special touch. Where else, on an ordinary Wednesday night, for example, am I going to prepare and eat oyster tacos?

Mmmmm – oyster tacos. You read right. We clipped the recipe out of our local Sun paper about a year ago and stuck it on the fridge for future use. The time came this week when we looked at each other and said simultaneously, “What the hell are we having for dinner?!” After ruling out an adventurous experiment with Salmon Sous Vide, we both agreed on the quirky oyster recipe gaping at us from the fridge door. What a scrumptious evening it was!

I hope you enjoy these, too. There are two ways to prepare this meal, from super cheap and easy to slighty more elaborate. In classic Maryland fashion, I bid you to, ” Half vuh grate meel, hon!”

Oyster Tacos with Chili Cream

1 pint oysters

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup gluten free corn meal

salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tbs water

8 corn tortillas

8oz bag of coleslaw mix

1 cup soy sour cream

a small can of roasted chili peppers (either chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, if you can find it at your local market, or a can of peppers and a separate jar of enchilada sauce. You can also roast your own peppers and make your own enchilada sauce, which would be authentically yummy)

lime wedges and fresh cilantro for garnish

enough oil to fill a pan 2-3 inches high

Heat oven to 250. Blend sour cream and chili peppers (and enough sauce to your taste); set aside. Wrap tortillas in foil and place them in the oven.

To prepare fried oysters:

Combine flour, corn meal, s&p in a bowl. Drain oysters, and dip each in beaten egg, then dredge in flour mixture. Heat oil to 375 degrees in a frying pan. Fry those babies, a few at a time, until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. The less time the better (otherwise, it’s like chewing a flattened, sea-flavored rubber ball).

When oysters are all cooked, remove tortillas from oven (make sure they are lying flat, so they don’t split apart). On each tortilla, spoon on cream, coleslaw and top with the oysters. Garnish with a squirt of lime and a few sprigs of cilantro.

Yum, yum! You can also feel free to add Old Bay Seasoning to your flour before dredging those sweet beauties in it. I don’t know why, but there’s just something about a strange-looking, gray, bottom-dwelling scavenger from the sea that gets me all misty-eyed for my hometown.